ITEM TITLE:
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Population Count Update
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SUBMITTED BY: Lisa Von Bargen, CED Director
FISCAL NOTES:
Expenditure Required: N/A
Unencumbered Balance: N/A
Funding Source: N/A
RECOMMENDATION:
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None. Report only.
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SUMMARY STATEMENT:
At the work session on February 7th a small portion of the discussion centered on the importance of the City's annual population determination and its relationship to the tax cap. Staff reported the State's most recent population number (3,939), issued in January, is 72 people less than last year. The deadline to protect the City's right to appeal the population determination was February 13th. A letter from the Mayor requesting the option to appeal was provided on February 10th to the Department of Commerce, Community & Economic Development (DCCED). A copy of that letter is attached.
The annual registration for the Energy Assistance Program (EAP) provides a unique opportunity for the City to collect our own population data every year in anticipation of a possible population count appeal. Every registrant for the EAP is required to complete the population survey. A copy of the survey instrument is also attached.
Staff was finally able to complete the data entry from the surveys on February 15th. The total number of residents identified in the households qualifying for the EAP is 3,181. Please remember this number does not include any household where electric and heat is included in the rent. The number also does not include our group quarters population. Some examples of group quarters are the US Coast Guard, Crowley Crews, Providence Long Term Care, the Senior Center, etc.
The local numbers over the past year indicate a decrease. In December 2015 the number was 3,268. From December 2016 the number is 3,181 - a decrease of 87 people. In fact, the local numbers over the past five years show a downward trend:
2012- 3,438
2013- 3,322
2014- 3,196
2015- 3,268
2016- 3,181
Given the local number reflects a population decrea...
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